Pokemon Go players demand Niantic return to “forgotten” generation

Scott Baird
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Pokemon Go players are furious that Niantic has mostly skipped one of the biggest and most popular Pokemon generations.

The surprise success of Pokemon Go led to a rush of content over the years, with more and more generations’ worth of content being added to the game. Most of the Pokemon from the series are playable in Pokemon Go.

At some point, a decision must have been made to slow down content updates so there would be new things to add to Pokemon Go in the gaps between generations. This means fans are still waiting patiently, as certain Pokemon and mechanics have yet to be introduced to Pokemon Go.

There is one Pokemon generation that has been surprisingly overlooked in Pokemon Go. Despite it being one of the biggest dual-entries in the series since the early days of PokeMania, selling millions of copies worldwide.

Pokemon Sword & Shield

Pokemon Go players are upset that Gen 8 has been forgotten

A user on the Pokemon Go Reddit shared a meme about how Niantic has forgotten Pokemon Sword & Shield, which led to users coming into the thread to express their despair about how the Galar region has been ignored in Pokemon Go.

“Niantic, you have the Gen 8 main legendaries. Where’s my soccer bunny and drummer gorilla?!” one user writes, while another says, “I started playing the mainline games in gen 8, I want my soccer rabbit, James Bond in a fur suit and drummer gorilla.”

A lot of fans are surprised that the three starter Pokemon from Pokemon Sword & Shield and their evolutions haven’t been added, considering how popular they are in the real world and how starters are usually a top priority for being added to Pokemon Go.

What’s even more surprising is that the Dynamax mechanic is missing from Pokemon Go. These feel like natural additions to the game, but they’re absent. Then again, Z-Moves from Gen 7 and Terastallization from Gen 9 are also missing, so maybe Niantic doesn’t want too many battle mechanics.

The missing Gen 8 Pokemon are likely being saved for a slower period, as they can bring a ton of content to the game. It’s just a shame that the Pokemon Sword & Shield fans have to wait so long, especially considering how popular those games were on the Nintendo Switch.

About The Author

Scott has been writing for Dexerto since 2023, having been a former contributor to websites like Cracked, Dorkly, Topless Robot, Screen Rant, The Gamer, and TopTenz. A graduate of Edge Hill University in the UK, Scott started as a film student before moving into journalism. Scott specializes in Pokemon, Nintendo, DnD, Final Fantasy, and MTG. He can be contacted on LinkedIn.